Future Destiny
by classengurl
Summary: A new generation inhabits Destiny Islands. Julia is a spunky teen who is best friends with Zade and Riku. The three friends dream of seeing new worlds, but little do they know that the fate of the universe lies in their hands.
1. The Beginning of the Future

Well, I decided to completely start over on this. I went back over through it, trying to pick up where I left off, and found out that this was REALLY bad. So I'm trying again. I think I can do much better. So here we go.

Haven't I already said this once? I don't own Kairi or Sora, or any of that stuff. I do own my characters. So there.

* * *

A teenage girl stood on the dock of the smallest island in a chain of islands, known to the locals as Destiny Islands. She had just stepped out of her boat that she had paddled to the island in, so she bent down to tie it to the little dock. Her shoulder length chestnut hair fell in her icy blue eyes. A tarnished, undecorated, simple sword was laying on the dock nearbyjust barely reflecting the bright sun above. After securely tying up the little wooden boat, Julie stood up and picked up her sword. She walked down to the beach, scanning the horizon for her friends. They had told her to meet them there, for the Annual Destiny Islands Fighting Tournament was tomorrow, and they all wanted to get in some last minute practice. 'Where is everyone?' Julie wondered, as she sat down on a log.

Julie had just started to day dream when she felt someone tickle her sides from behind. She emitted a small shriek, and wriggled out of her tickler's grasp. She looked back to see that it was one of her friends, Riku. Julie smiled as she noticed that he had brought his sword as well, it meant that the guys hadn't used the promise of practice as a lure to get Julie out of the house and over to the island that the teens played upon. His sword wasn't very old, for it still had the slight shine of newly forged metal. It was simple enough, a standard blade with a black handle. It matched the teen's dark clothing, which were identical to what his father wore when he was at Riku's age.

Riku was almost identical to his father, Sora, with the slight exception of his hair. His hair was the same color as his father's although it didn't have the insane gravity defying locks that his father possessed. Instead they just hung loosely, more like his mother, Kairi. They were still short and choppy, but most certainly a bit more vertically challenged than Sora.

"So you're here. But where is Zade?" Riku asked as he sat down on the log. Julie was brushing the sand off of her black cargos as she responded.

"I have no idea. I pretty much just got here. I didn't pay any attention to see if his boat was here either."

"It's here. This isn't that big of an island, so it won't take too long to find him." Riku commented. "Got any idea where he might be?"

Julie adjusted her white tank while she thought. After going through her mental list of places he would most likely be, she came to a conclusion. "I bet I know where he is. I'll be right back."

Julie walked off behind Riku, towards the waterfall. She walked over to the left side of the waterfall, and lifted up the sheet of ivy that covered the entrance to the Secret Place. She walked through the short hallway and into the main cavern. Just as she imagined, there was Zade, sitting on a rock and staring off into space. His gleaming black sword was in the corner, sitting idly. It had been a gift to him for his recent sixteenth birthday from his parents. They let him pick out the one he liked the most, so he chose a ornate black sword that featured bright red flames down the blade.

Julie smiled as she watched him as he was zoned out. She enjoyed to study his sculpted arms and haunting grey eyes. His jet black hair was slightly ruffled due to the unusually strong summer winds that were visiting the islands, and his weathered jeans and black shirt showed the signs of a recent trip across the small area of water that separated the two islands. Julie you could say liked Zade, although she didn't really know much of what to make about her feelings, since her only friends were Riku and Zade. They were all the family she possessed, for her mother had died during childbirth and her father was killed by the heartless two years ago.

"Dreaming about other worlds again?" she said quietly. He gave a small jump, having been taken totally aback from Julie's silent entry. His pale face became flushed with pink, as he stood up.

"Oh, hey Julie. I didn't realize it was you," he said quickly. "You scared me there."

Julie smiled. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to." She said. "I was just trying to find you. Riku is already here, and we're all ready to train. All we need is you."

Zade nodded. "Well then what are we waiting for?"

The two teens exited the cave and walked back to the beach.

"Look who I found hiding in a cave!" Julie said, her voice full of spunk. She was already excited about getting to get an idea about how hard the tournament was going to be. The tournament was always the highlight of the summer, and everyone on the islands came to watch. Riku stood up right as Julie and Zade reached him.

"Hey Riku. Sorry about hiding like that. I figured it would be a while before you two would wake up. I guess time just got away from me" Zade explained.

"So who's going first?" Julie asked. They each looked at each other and Zade said, "Ladies first." Riku walked towards the ocean and said, "I'll go if that's fine with you Zade." Zade shook his head and said, "Go right ahead. I'll battle the winner." He then sat back on the log to watch the battle. Julie and Riku each took their places facing one another in the middle of the beach. The sun was shining down brightly, and the breeze had died down. A seagull flew overhead, screeching as it went by. Then Julie leapt and made a strike at Riku. Riku swung his sword up, effectively blocking her attack. He then swung it back around, aiming at her side. She jumped back and casted water on him.

"Thanks for cooling me off. It's such a hot day." He said to her, grinning.

"You're going to think hot when the sweat is pouring down your face from fighting me." She responded, a grin on her face as well.

No one noticed when the wind picked up again, carrying dark clouds from the horizon over their island. Julie cast thunder, and zapped Zade. "Nice one" he said as he ran at her. He jumped up high, and Julie's eyes followed him. He was high enough that thebarely visiblesun blinded her as he brought his sword down upon her. He stopped just short of hitting her.

"You lose" he said, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Wow, what a great win for you." Julie said sarcastically, as she blinked furiously, trying to regain her normal vision."Blinding me with the sun is such an honorable way to win."

"Using your settings to your advantage is something you need to work on." Zade said from the sides, in his usual calm voice.

"Why thank you Mr. Tournament champion." Julie said, as a grin spread across her face. "Oh, wait. I forgot! I won last year. That's right…"

"You won't be so lucky this year." Zade said.

The three friends continued to battle for the rest of the day, until the sun began to set. Then they headed over to the small peninsula, where they each picked a coconut. Julie jumped on the paopu tree and leaned against the trunk, while Zade sat on the sand and Riku sat next to her. They were each drinking the sweet milk from the coconuts when Julie broke the silence.

"I wonder if we ever really will see other worlds" she said quietly.

"I'm not sure that we want to." Riku said. "Look at my parents. They lost their best friend and nearly each other."

For once, Zade piped up. "But look at what they accomplished. They saved all of the worlds from Ansem and the heartless. And they still do have each other. If it had never happened, do you think they would have known the things about one another that they know now?"

Julie shrugged. "True. All I care about is that we stay together. I don't know what I'd do without you two." She said, softly smiling. She wasshowing a rare stroke of maturity, something you hardly ever saw in the tomboyish teen.

"Yeah." Riku commented.

"I agree."

(Julie's Point of View)

After we had finished our coconuts, we each headed our separate ways to rest up for the big day tomorrow. I stepped into my small house that I called home. It wasn't much, just enough space for me and my possessions. My dad had been killed by the heartless, and my mother in childbirth so I was alone. I was about fourteen when he was killed. As I sat my sword next to the door, I considered what to eat for dinner. My stomach growled loudly, signifying that it wished to eat spaghetti.

AfterI had eaten dinner, I decided to go ahead and go to sleep for the night. I went to my room and changed into a pair of plaid boxers and a white cami, and collapsed on my bed, exhausted. I quickly fell asleep unintentionally, with the light still on.

I awoke in a dark arena type area, where a soft spotlight was on me. Another spotlight appeared on a hooded figure.

"What the hell? Where am I?" I said quickly. I thought I had fallen asleep on my bed! "And who are you?" I added.

"That is irrelevant. What does matter is who you are, Julia." The figure said. I cocked my head. Who calls me by my full name?

"You are the wielder of the keyblade that they all seek. You do not know this, but you wield a great power in your heart and in that key. You are they key. Your destiny, your friends' destinies, the destiny of the worlds, they all lie in your hands. Darkness is approaching quickly, but what will you do? Embrace it? Or will you try to fight? Just don't forget that you hold they key. You will be the one to determine your fate. The power is in your hands. Don't forget this."

The cloaked man then turned around and walked out of the light. Then the light ceased to exist. It was pitch black darkness. I felt my keyblade appear into my hands. It was emitting a slight glow. But why was it? It had never done this before… Then I realized as I looked up why it was glowing. In front of me was a huge dark creature, with long legs and arms and a huge heart shape missing in its torso. "What in the hell?..." I murmured.

I had little time to figure out what it was before it tried to bring its gigantic hand down upon me. I leapt out of the way and brought my keyblade into a defensive stance. I still couldn't believe the thing was here. I mean, I thought it was locked away in my room! Looking at it though, producing a heavenly white glow from the pure white surface of it, it reminded me of that the figure had said. If I determine my fate, then I will get through this. So I leapt towards the black creature, attempting to strike it wherever I could hit. I managed to hit its arm fairly hard, which seemed to anger it, since it slammed the ground where I had just stood. I thought I was fine since the punch had obviously missed me, but when darkness started to spread from his hand, I jumped away. I couldn't run for long before the darkness began to surround me.

I jolted up from my laying position. I was back in my room, with everything normal. My mom must had come in during the night and turned off my light, because it was now dark. Was all of that just a dream? I could have sworn it was real. I felt the cold metal of my keyblade in my hands; I heard the man's voice. But waking up in my room told me it was a dream. All of my thoughts about that dream quickly disappeared when I heard a loud clap of thunder. I looked out my window over my bed to see if it was raining. It wasn't just raining, it seemed to be pouring. Yet in the pouring rain, I saw shapes moving on the beach of our island that Riku, Zade, and I had just been on a few hours ago.

Gut feeling told me to go see what they were, so I reached under my bed and pulled out a long, locked rectangular box. I had kept my keyblade a secret from everyone, although I neverreally knew why.I pulled the chain from around my neck and used the key at the end to unlock it. Inside gleamed my keyblade. It was glowing just like in my dream, and the white of the metal seemed to be even brighter. Even the archaic text that said "Purity" seemed to glow. Taking this as a sign of bad news, I changed quickly into a pair of light blue jeans, a light blue cami, and a black scoop neck long sleeve shirt. I also grabbed a black hoodie and my keyblade and left my home.

After I had paddled to the island in the pouring rain, I stepped out of my boat to find odd little black bug creatures all over the island. It seemed the second my foot touched the dock they all saw me. I was soon surrounded. I fought my way to the beach, trying to see if I was alone on the island, when they finally enclosed me in a circle. Every where I looked all I could see were the creatures. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew what these things are. I couldn't believe I didn't recognize the darkside when I saw it. They were all heartless. I remember having seen a drawing of different ones that Sora had seen on his journeys. Knowing this, I knew these things should be easily defeated. There was just one problem. It was one keyblade against what seemed to be a million heartless. The island looked to be covered in darkness, there were so many of them. I was just starting to become afraid when I heard something that I had never been so glad to hear in my life.

"Need some help?"

* * *

Chapter one, finished. Wow. I can't belive I've started this. I'm just completely starting over. Wow. Anyone care to remind me that I'm crazy? Do me a favor, and give the hopeless writer a review. I'd appreciate it. I need something to tell me that I'm not totally wasting my time. 


	2. New Home, New World, New Ideas

Hmm… I'm starting this immediately after finishing the first chapter so it shouldn't take too long… To clear up any confusion, this is a rewrite of my story, "A Tale of the Future". I'm taking the basic idea that I had and making it sound more intelligent, and incorporating ideas from another fic of mine that I've been slaving over. So there you go.

If I have to do this every chapter, I'm going to burst. So I'll say it, and I'm not saying it again. I own Julie, Riku, and Zade. They're mine. Any other simple boring characters that are unfamiliar probably belong to me as well. Everything else goes to the beloved SquareEnix and Disney. Happy now?

* * *

I scanned the area looking for the source of the voice. My gaze settled on the dock where a smirking Riku and somber Zade stood. _I swear, he hardly ever smiles!_

"What took you two so long? I've been out here holding all of these Heartless while you two snoozed!" I smiled, loosening up a bit. _There's actually some hope for winning now!_

The three of us made quick work of the packs of heartless, until a pack remained on the peninsula where we had just been a few hours ago. I grinned and looked back at the guys.

"Last one there is a rotten paopu!" I said as I started running to the island. I had to quickly stop as I saw that Riku's parents, Sora and Kairi were standing at the beginning of the bridge.

"What the hell…" Sora said quietly as he stared at my keyblade.

"How did you get one of those?" Kairi said.

"Uh… well… I honestly don't know. I found it lying next to me when I woke up two years ago…actually right about this time." I stammered. _It all was so weird… I had a nightmare of some sort, one that was so terrible that you don't remember it, and afterwards I turned over and felt my keyblade underneath me._

"I don't see how the heartless are back," Kairi said. "I thought the two of you had sealed the door…"

"I thought the same Kai, I thought we did." Sora said. His keyblade appeared in his hand as he made his way across the bridge.

"Sora!" Kairi yelled. "You're not getting mixed up with this again! I won't bear to be separated from you another time."

Sora looked back at her, and sternly said. "This is my duty, Kai. I have no choice."

_Yes you do!_

"I'll go, Sora." I said, walking closer. "Kairi needs you. I don't have much of a commitment to this place."

"Not much of a commitment?!?!" Riku exclaimed, apparently shocked. "What about us?!?!"

Even Zade looked shocked. "He's right. We're your friends." He said, just as somber as always. "I thought you said you never wanted to be separated from us."

Then it hit me. "We all can go. All three of us are young and energetic, so why don't we go? We can handle it. The three of us are unbeatable." I said quickly. _The heartless are gathering, Sora. We don't have the time for this…_

"Exactly. You're all _too_ young. Zade and Riku are both seventeen and you're only sixteen." Sora said. "You have no idea what its like out there." He added.

"We're all older than you were, Sora. You and Kairi are finally together. Stay that way." Zade said convincingly. _Thank goodness he's here_. _When Riku and I both wanted to do something, Zade was usually the convincing voice telling Sora and Kairi that he'd take care of us._

"Exactly." I said, nodding.

Sora shook his head. "You can't go out there not knowing what to expect. The four of us will go, and you can keep a hold on things here, Kairi."

Anger flashed in her eyes. _Woah, big mistake Sora... I've never seen her this mad._

"No Sora. I'm not going to stay behind, useless and a pain in everyone's ass." She said firmly, her voice full of discontentment.

Sora looked in her eyes, as he tried to find reasons for her to stay. Her gaze softened into a pleading look.

"Please, don't leave me again." She said. Sora sighed.

"You can go for now. But only becauseour island isn't safe. Hopefully Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cloud are at Traverse. You can stay there." He finally said.

_No more time for discussion. They're here._

"Guys, I hate to break this up, but the heartless are approaching." I said.

Riku swam to the ladder on the far side of the peninsula as Sora and I worked on the shadows on the bridge. We finally met up in the center, while Kairi watched from the main part of the island. We were just leaving the island, victorious,as a Darkside rose up from the ground behind us. None of us realized it was there until we saw a look of horror appear on Kairi's already worried face. We all turned around as it finished materializing.

"Enough already, damn it!" Zade said angrily. _What the hell? I've never seen Zade this angry… I mean its like he wants them to leave even worse than us. Oh well I guess, I suppose he is just enthusiastic._

The four of us aligned in front of the darkside, and each of us took a body part. Zade and Riku took the legs, while Sora and I (The more agile of the four) took the arms. It seemed like we were doing well when it stumbled to its knees and pounded the ground, until we saw darkness emanating from its hand.

"What in the world is that?!?!" Riku said, backing away.

"I never really ever found out. I didn't ever want to. Lets head back to the main island!" Sora said. So we all took off at a run towards Kairi, not really knowing where to go from there. There was an incredible wave of hopelessness as we each warily watched the approaching darkness.

"Whatever you do, stay together!" Sora yelled over the now high winds. I struggled to see as the erratic winds whipped my hair around my face, trying to grab someone's hand. I ended up in between Riku and Zade. I could easily tell Riku and Zade's hands apart, for Riku had a very firm, almost worried grip, like he was holding on for dear life. On the other hand, Zade's hand was soft, comforting. _Don't ever let me go._I gripped both of their hands a bit tighter as everything slowly became dark…

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes. Directly in front of me was a grey stone wall; I was in an alleyway. I was sitting with my back against one side, and my feet flat on the ground. I looked to the left of me, where Riku was sleeping in a similar position to me, laying against me. On my right was Zade, with a peaceful expression on his face, and his head on my shoulder. _This sure is comfortable…I think I'll let the two of them sleep a bit longer. They look just so peaceful._

So much for that idea. I had stirred enough that Zade was slowly waking up.

"Morning sleepy head" I mumbled, my voice still sleepy as well. Zade sat up and turned around to look at me. He then smiled.

"Well, it looks like you got your wish, Jules. We're all here together." He said quietly.

_He sure is acting funny. I've never seen him act like this, smiling and being so…sweet._

"Yeah, I guess I did. And we're in a new world. Who knows where though." I commented.

"We're in a new world?" said a very sleepy sounding Riku. He had woken up while I was talking with Zade without me noticing. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "This looks like how my dad described Traverse Town to be." He added.

I smiled. _Whenever Sora described Traverse, it always sounded like a place I'd like to visit. I guess the atmosphere of a world that is forever dark was appealing to me. I'm a night owl, I suppose. Unless I'm extremely tired, I stay up until all hours of the night, thinking. Whether its day dreaming or just sorting things out in my mind, it just won't ever give up._

The three of us got up, having decided that we should try and locate the item shop to look for the owner, who we knew to be Cid. If it really was Traverse, then he would be there. We exited the alleyway, and made our way through the city until we came to a building with a brightly lit sign that said "Item Shop". We opened the doors and walked in. An gray haired man stood at the counter, with a piece of wheat in his mouth, chewing it like the end of a pencil.

"How may I help you kids?" He said boredly as if he weren't really paying attention to us. He continued to chew on his wheat.

"Could you tell me if this is Traverse Town?" I said, stepping forward.

"Mmm Hmm."

"I assume you are the owner of this shop, Cid?" I continued.

"The one and only."

"Then you know who we're looking for. Have you seen a man named Sora or a woman named Kairi recently?" I said. He looked up. I guess we got his attention.

"Sora? Kairi? That old?" He said, shocked. "I suppose they would have grown up after all these years. I haven't seen either of them in about fifteen years or so. How come?"

Each of us sighed unhappily. _So much for all of us staying together._

"We're trying to find them." Riku commented. When Cid looked at him as he spoke, his jaw dropped open.

"Are you related to Sora? Because you look just like him." Cid said. Riku and I both burst into laughter. Even Zade chuckled a bit.

"Related?" Riku finally said. "He's my dad, and Kairi is my mom!"

If it was possible, Cid's jaw dropped open even further. "They're what?!?!" he exclaimed.

"I didn't stutter. They're my parents. I'm their son. They're married." Riku explained.

"Damn, time really does fly in this place." Cid commented. "Well, as I said. I haven't seen them in fifteen years. What you can do though is go to the hotel. There you'll find a man named Leon and his wife Yuffie, and another man named Cloud and his wife Aerith. All four of them knew your parents. They might know. The hotel is in the second district. But watch out- the second district has gotten pretty heartless infested. You'll need to be prepared."

"Thanks!" Riku said, and immediately ran out the door. Zade and I quickly threw a thank-you over our shoulders as we ran out behind him to catch up.

"No problem." He called after us. After we were gone, he shook his head. "Kids these days…"

After a few minutes of searching, we finally found the door that led to the second district and the hotel. Once we entered, we found a card sitting on the front desk. It read: "Red Room: Leon Leonhart and Yuffie Leonhart. Blue Room: Cloud Strife and Aerith Strife."

"Lets try Leon and Yuffie first. I remember my dad talking about them the most." Riku said. Zade and I followed him to the room, where Riku was already knocking on the door.

After a few moments, Squall came to the door.

"What do you kids want? I don't have any munny, so if you're trying to sell me something, you can go ahead and leave." He said grouchily.

"Squallie dear, I'll be waiting in the shower whenever you're done with your friends." Said a flirty,unseen, feminine voice. All of us assumed it was Yuffie, and we all snickered. A faint blush appeared over Squall's cheeks as he said to her,

"Yuffie, I told you not to call me that in front of other people."

We heard a girlygiggle, and the sound of a door shutting.

"Well, we were just wondering if you had seen Sora or Kairi recently. You do remember them, right?" Riku said. Squall blinked. He then stared at Riku.

"Holy shit, you look just like him. Are you and Sora related or something?" Squall said.

Riku slapped his hand on his forehead as I burst into laughter. _Even Zade is laughing. He must be in a really good mood today..._

"He's my dad, and Kairi is my mom." Riku said, shaking his head.

"What the hell? They're just kids no older than you!" Squall said.

"What is your deal? Do you have amnesia or something? Its been just a few years you know." Riku said. _He looks…frustrated._

"Damn… I can't believe that it's been that long. I haven't seen either of them since they left to seal Kingdom Hearts." Squall said. "They didn't even cross into my mind when the heartless came back. I guess… I don't even know what I thought when they came back. I assume you three were stuck here when your world was swallowed then?"

Riku nodded. "Something like that."

"Well then you'll need a place to stay. Go next door to the blue room and ask to speak with Aerith. She owns this place, and she'll give you three the keys to the yellow room."

"Thanks Mr. Leonhart." Riku said.

"Ugh, don't call me that. You make me feel old. The name is Leon."

So the three of us went next door to visit Mrs. Strife. I decided to knock this time, figuring that she might be more receptive to me. Once she opened the door, I introduced myself and the guys.

"Hi Mrs. Strife, I'm Julia. This is Riku, and that's Zade. Leon told us you could give us a room? Our world got swallowed up by the heartless." I said formally. Aerith looked us over, letting her eyes rest on Riku a bit longer.

"Riku, you look really familiar. Do I know you?" she said.

"No, but you know my parents. Sora and Kairi." Aerith's eyes opened wide. "Wow. Well since you're their son, I have no problem renting out the last two rooms to you three. In an hour or so, you can join the Leonharts and me and my husband for dinner in the Café, if you'd like. Here are your keys." She finally said. She pulled a green and yellow key out of the pocket of her pink dress.

"Thanks!" I said, as we left.

* * *

Later that day, the seven of us sat at a table in the café, plates full of food in front of us. Riku, Yuffie, and Cloud were both talking about video games, while Zade and Squall quietly ate their food. Aerith was sitting next to me eating her food quietly when she spoke to me.

"So who are you rooming with. Which one of the guys?" she asked, a curious smile on her face.

"Well I assumed I'd take the yellow room by myself. It would be rather awkward to have to share a bed with one of them, and I don't want for them to have to sleep on a cot." I answered, a slight blush creeping up on my face. _Although I wouldn't mind rooming with Zade…_ Wait. Where did that come from?

"You do have a keyblade right? Heartless are attracted to your heart. You can't take the risk of being ambushed alone in your sleep. You need to room with one of them." She said, her happy tone changing into that of something resembling a concerned friend.

"But… I wouldn't know which of them to room with."

"I'm sure that you'd like to room with at least _one_ of them, wouldn't you." Her smile reappeared and widened. I blushed even more and quietly giggled.

"I trust Zade the most, and he's older and stronger." I finally said. A pleased look appeared on her face.

"I figured so. You watch him a lot."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's obvious. You like him."

"I WHAT!?!?!" I exclaimed. Everyone looked at me funnily. Aerith explained.

"Nothing guys, go back to your food."

"I resent that." Yuffie said jokingly. After everyone had become wrapped back up in their activities, Aerith continued.

"Why else would you look at him so much?"

"Because he's fun to watch and nice to look at?"

"Exactly. You _like_ him."

"No way! He's like my best friend!"

"Leon is my best friend, but I don't stare at him."

"Humph. Whatever."

"So are you going to room with him?"

"I couldn't ask him that! He might think I like him! Not that I do or anything…"

"Uh huh. Don't worry. I'll do this one favor for you. But then you're on your own. And if you ever need any advice, you know who to come to."

* * *

Chapter Two Complete: Wow. That's two chapters in a week. Don't get to used to this. I'm rarely ever this fast. I just happen to have a LOT of ideas for this. Ok so it might be like this for a while. But don't get accustomed.

Major thanks to Lvkishugs for reviewing.

Lvkishugs- Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate you. I think you've reviewed every single piece of work that I've put out since I've known you. I cannot thank you enough. I'm really glad you're liking it. I really like as well where I'm heading with this. I've got a LOT in my mind about it though. I just have to put it all on paper.

I'll start on the next chapter tomorrow most likely. Make my day, review for me. I'd love you forever. Thanks in advance!(Hopefully)

-classengurl


	3. Confusing Thoughts

Wow, I've had so much inspiration for this story. I have no idea how, but I can write for this pretty darn easily. It's really fun to write too, so the lack of reviews hasn't been too bumming. I write a lot, but not all my work makes it to the net. Most of it is unfinished or still being worked out in my mind. This story however is an exception. I hope the few people that might read it enjoy it. Thanks to you unseen people, if you exist.

* * *

After dinner, everyone seemed to go their own ways as they left the café. I noticed Aerith heading off with Zade. I felt my cheeks heat up as I remembered what Aerith was planning to talk about him with. I shook my head, deciding that he wouldn't think anything about it since she did have a point about the whole keyblade thing. _I can't believe that I was too chicken to ask him. What's the matter with me? I've** never** had problems talking to either of the guys. Now that Aerith has theorized that I like him, I'm a nervous wreck when I think about him. This really sucks._

As I entered the second district, I was welcomed by the clank of armor from a defender.

_Just great. What a perfect way to end the day. I get to beat up heartless. Lovely._

My keyblade appeared in my right hand, and I leapt down to the lower level.

"Over here you idiot, lets get this over with. The sooner the better." I said boredly. The ugly thing lookedmy way, and started waddling over. As it neared me, I easily jumped over it, turned around, and struck it in the back. It stumbled, and I unleashed a chain of attacks upon it. After completing the chain, it was finished.

"What a waste of time." I muttered as I started to head to the nearest bench to jump up to the upper level.

"Impressive, Julia." I heard.

"What the hell?!?" I said, startled. I immediately went into a defensive stance. I whipped around to where the voice came from. A cloaked figurewalked slowlyout from the shadowy area in front of me. Unbeknownst to me, the figure was wearing the same cloak that members of an organization whose members were known as well, Unknowns.

"You seem to have taken heed to my words since the last time we met." He said. _Wait a minute. That's the same person I saw in my dream! But…I thought it was **just** a dream._

"Things are falling into place in order for you to complete your task. So far, you have performed beautifully, much above what I thought you would. Maybe there still is hope…" he said. _This dude makes **no** sense at all._

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It is too early for you to know yet. But I leave you with this- if you and your friends will stay here until the people you search for return, then things will go much smoother. Stay here, for your sake."

"Too early?!? Why don't you just tell me what the hell is going on, and why you keep appearing, and on that note, who are you?"

"I'm sorry Julia, I must leave now. The next time I see you, your godparents will be with me. They can tell you more. Oh, and be careful around the heartless, and don't go anywhere alone unless you absolutely must. You cannot be killed or seriously hurt. And one last thing. Do not, whatever you do, do _not_ mention our meetings. To _anyone._ Not to Riku, not to Zade, or anyone else. Otherwise, you may compromise the plan. Farewell for now, Julia."

And then he walked away into the shadows. I stood there, dumbfounded. My mind was racing. _What in the hell is going on?!?! Who is this guy to tell me what to do and where to go? Why should I even listen to him? And how does he know that Sora and Kairi are going to come here, much less that they're my godparents? How does he know all of us? …Man, I am so freaking confused. _

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doors from the first district creaking open. I looked immediately up there, only to find Zade walking through them. A shiver went down my spine when I saw him. _I must be losing it… first I'm having crazy dreams, then this hooded guy keeps talking to me, and now I'm nervous around Zade. What is this world coming to?_

"Hey Jules."

I must have been zoning out, because I blinked and there he was in front of me. I gasped, totally taken by suprise. He chuckled at me.

"Did I scare you?"

"Yeah, you kinda did." My voice was a bit shaky, partly from the recent scare, partly from a reason that I couldn't put my finger on. _Do I really like him?_ He laughed a little.

"Sorry about that. Anyways, I was trying to find you," he said. "I need to talk about something with you." All of a sudden, I felt like my insides had just fallen out on the floor beneath me. _Oh shit, he knows. He must know. Aerith must have let my secret slip. What am I going to do? Damn it…_

"What about?" I tried to say casually, like nothing was wrong.

"Well, Aerith told me that I have to room with you. I guess I'm supposed to like protect or something so you don't get attacked in the middle of the night. So I was wondering if she had passed this information on to you." He said, equally as casual. _I wonder if he feels the same… Wait, back to what he was saying. I really can't zone out like this all the time._

"Actually, yeah she has." I said. _**Whew**! I thought I was a goner there. _"That's what we were talking about at dinner tonight."

"So _that's_ what you were all flustered about." He said, a grin spreading across his face. _Oh man, this is **so** embarrassing! Everyone noticed… He probably thinks that I like him since it bothered me so much at dinner. If only he knew what we were **really** talking about._

"Yeah," I said, letting out a forced chuckle. "It kinda took me by surprise. I was planning to take the yellow room to myself, and when she said I had to room with you, I was kinda shocked."

"Kinda? You seemed a bit freaked out by it. Like you didn't want to or something."

"Nah, I was just…surprised." I said. I smiled and continued on. "So I guess we're roommates now, unless you don't want to or something." That's when he really smiled. _Oh man, now what? He's got **something** up his sleeve. These grins are starting to worry me._

"So, are we sharing the double or do we need to find me a cot?"

* * *

I had never been so mortified in my life. After Zade had said that, my face turned as red as the flames on his sword. He went ahead and got a cot without any further discussion. I don't think he even was serious about actually sharing, thank goodness. As I sit here on my own bed thinking about it all, it's rather funny. I mean, how could I have thought that he would actually be serious about sleeping together? Just the thought of it makes me laugh inside. Zade has already asked me twice what I keep laughing about. I just keep telling him that it's nothing, and then he shakes his head and looks at me funny.

"Hey, Jules. I just remembered. What are we going to do without all our necessities from home? I mean, none of us have anything but the clothes on our backs, and a few munny dropped from the heartless." Zade said, as he was setting up the cot that was going to be his bed. "I mean, I'm good for the night, but what about you?"_ Oh man. What **am** I going to do about that? Its way too late to go get something from the stores, and I can't exactly sleep in my clothes. Wait, I know!_

"I wonder if Aerith might have something I could borrow for the night. I'll be right back." I said, after pondering for a few seconds. I got up, opened our door, and walked down the hall. I arrived at her room, and knocked twice.

"Hey Julie!" she said enthusiastically, once she had opened the door. "What's up?"

"Well, I kinda just realized that I only have the clothing on my back. I was wondering if you could possibly lend me something to sleep in." I said.She immediately smiled, and ushered me in.

"What do you prefer? A nightgown or pants? Or just a gigantic t-shirt?" she said, as she walked over to her wardrobe.

"Pants and a t-shirt sound great." I said immediately. _There's nothing better than a pair of warm pants and a baggy t-shirt to sleep in._ She grabbed a pair of black fleece pants and a simple white tank top.

"How's this? You'll appreciate the warmth from the pants, but the tank will keep you from getting too hot." She said, holding them up.

"They're perfect." I said, smiling. I took them from her, and headed for the door. "Thanks, Aerith! See ya in the morning!" I said as I closed the door behind me. I walked back to my own room, where the door was partially closed. I walked in to find Zade sitting on his cot, wearing nothing but his jeans, staring off into space. _I wonder what he's thinking._I couldn't help but stare at his beautifully sculpted body. All of the training and sparring over time showed, for he was quite buff. _I guess I had never noticed before until now, but his muscles are well…sexy._ I quietly walked by him as I felt my heart give a jump. _Damn. These feelings still aren't going away! I don't think I've ever thought about someone as much as I've thought about Zade in the past day. I think I do like him. But now what?_

After I had changed, I came out of our bathroom to find that Zade had casually tossed his jeans on a chair, along with his shirt, and had shut the door. He had also turned off all of the lights save the one next to the bed, and had already gotten under the covers of his cot. He was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. I flicked off the light in the bathroom and made my way over to my bed. Zade had even turned down the covers for me, in anticipation of my arrival. _This is kinda nice, rooming with him,_ I thought as I got into my bed. Right as I reached to turn off the light, Zade spoke.

"Night, Jules."

"Night, Zade."

* * *

Yay, Chapter three complete! Looking back on this, Julia thinks a lot. Nothing from Riku this time. His time will come though. And speaking of future events, if I were Julia the dude in the unknown suit would creep the heck out of me. Writing those portions frighten me a bit. He's just so… spooky. Anyways, I'm going to stop begging for reviews. The joy of seeing this unfold is enough for me. So until next time, toodles! 


	4. Rumors and Spies

Wow. Time really has flown by. I hope everyone had a great Christmas, for I sure did. I haven't updated due to the fact that I got Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. All I've done is play it. Its so freaking amazing. I love it. I've completed the thirteenth floor, and I'm stuck on the boss after it. I haven't spent much time there though. Anyways, here's chapter four.

Side note- It may be a while before the next update. I have two huge projects that I have to do in a week, and finals are coming up. So I'll try and write whenever I can. But this chapter and the next may take a while to come out.

If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I wouldn't be writing these stories, because I'd have no need to. So this is a waste of time. Oh, and I don't own any of the stores that Aerith and Julie went shopping at. On with the story!

* * *

I awoke to a pitch black room. I reached over and turned on the light next to my bed. _Hmm, Zade must have gone on to eat breakfast, because his bed is made and he's nowhere to be seen._

I climbed out of bed, and changed into my clothes. I headed to the café, hoping that I would find someone I knew there. Everyone had already gotten a table and were sitting around, ordering.

"Morning guys" I said cheerfully, a smile on my face. Everyone looked up for a moment and said their welcomes and went back to what they were doing. I sat down next to Yuffie and Aerith and picked up my menu.

"So how was your first night rooming with Zade?" Aerith asked as she laid her menu down on the table. "I assume the clothing I loaned you was warm enough?" _Let's see, I got to see his beautiful muscles and I had to restrain myself from saying that he looked hot._

"The clothing was really comfy." I said as I scanned over the menu. "The rooming part was fine. It's not as big of a deal as I thought. The interesting thing will be figuring out showers." _Hopefully Zade is a morning shower person. I hate taking a shower in the morning. It just puts me to sleep and clouds my mind._

Aerith smiled. "Yeah it's pretty fun trying to share one shower with two people, if they shower at the same time."

I nodded. "I'm hoping he's a morning shower type, since I hate taking them in the morning."

"Yeah, that's how it usually works with Cloud and I." _I wonder if I could talk with her about last night. I've been able to with anything else so far._

After we had ordered and were eating, I decided to bring it up.

"Hey Aerith?" I said. She looked up from her food and over to me.

"Yeah?"

"What does it mean when you feel like there's butterflies in your stomach whenever you see a certain guy?" I asked. _Man, she probably thinks I'm an idiot. But I can't help but ask these things since there aren't any other girls my age on our island. If only my mom had been around to tell me about such things._

Aerith's smile widened. "It's just as I thought. It means you like him." She said. A slight blush spread over my cheeks.

"So, um thenwhat happens next?" I asked.

"Well it kinda depends. Basically you try to find out whether or not he likes you back. If you don't think he does, you make him notice you."

"Well how do you do that? I mean, he probably only sees me as a friend."

"In your case, I'd just try giving him a little more attention; try being a little more feminine around him." I nodded. Being the tomboy that I was, softening up would not be a difficult task.

"Ok, I can handle that. On a side note, do you think he might have any feelings for me besides friendly ones?" I asked.

"That's a tough one." Aerith said. She paused for a moment to think, and replied. "I know that he cares for you a lot. It's pretty evident whenever I talked with him about you two rooming together. It's really hard to tell"

"Mmm." I said. _That didn't tell me much._ "I guess I'll just let things play out."

She smiled and nodded. "That's usually one of the best things to do. As I said, just pay attention to him a little more. That should help."

"Thank you so much Aerith." I said, smiling. "This really means a lot to me. There never was any kind of a mother figure in my life, and the only kids near my age were Riku and Zade, back on the islands." I said. Aerith already was sort of a mother figure in Traverse, acting as everyone's doctor and advisor. She was just great with people.

Her smile widened. "I'm just glad I can help. It's just nice to see some younger people around this city. Everyone here is middle aged or older, and it's rather depressing and lifeless."

I couldn't help but grin. Riku and I always did sorta liven up things.

Everyone had finished eating and left to go train, save Zade and I. As I was taking my last bite, Zade got up.

"So Jules, when do you take your showers? I've already taken mine, so feel free to take one when we get back." He said._ Wow, I was just thinking that. Creepy…_

"That's good. I'm a night shower kind of girl, so I'll just take one tonight." I said as I got up as well.

"Then since we have nothing to do, I found a waterway that would be perfect to train in. Care to join me?" he said "I'd have to get my sword from our room first, but otherwise I'm ready if you are." _Woah. Now he wants to train with me? This is turning out to be one really weird day._

"Sounds great."

So we headed to our room, grabbed his sword, and headed to the "secret" waterway. We warmed up, and then prepared to spar.

"Ready to lose, Jules?" Zade said confidently, a smirk spread across his face. I smiled.

"Like that'll ever happen." I said. I took my place in front of him, and our usual stare down ensued. Every time we fought, we'd stare at each other, waiting for one person to go, until someone got sick of waiting and attacked.

"What's the matter," Zade said, his grin widening. "Getting scared?"

"Just waiting for the weakest to attack first, that's all."

"Weakest? Well then ladies first."

"Some lady I am. We all know that."

"More of a lady than I, my dear." _He always brings it back to the fact that I'm a girl. And then acts all weird. Goofball._

"Quit bringing that up and just attack, Zade. We'll be here all day if you don't."

"My, aren't we stubborn today? Alright then, I'll give up just this once. Prepare yourself." Zade said. His grin immediately left as he yelled, "Strike Raid!" I jumped up, and turned around in mid air. As Zade's sword came back at me, I raised my keyblade and deflected it. It flew off into the water, and quickly sunk.

"Now he doesn't have a weapon. Whatever shall the poor little baby do?" I said in a fake, baby talk voice.

"Humph," was his only reply.

I ran towards him; my keyblade raised. As I slashed at him, he dodge rolled towards the water. He then stood and dove into the water. I grinned. _Big mistake, sweetie._ I raised my keyblade and yelled "Thundaga!" I saw Zade turn around in the murky water, his sword in hand, right as the room lit up with thunder. I saw him flinch as he struggled to rise to the surface. He finally made it over to the edge of the land, but was unable to get out. I walked over, a triumphant grin on my face, and bent over. Zade's arms were draped on the ground, his sword nearby. He was panting, and looking a little worse for the wear. I touched his head with my keyblade and said,

"You lose. Curaga."

His body became enveloped in a green light, and his breathing returned to normal. I then bent down and took hold of his hands. He looked up at me finally and a terrible grin spread across his face.

"No, you do."

He then pulled me into the water.

"Shit! It's freezing in here!" I said through my chattering teeth, as my legs treaded water.

"That was low, Zade!" I added, and smacked him on the head with my free hand. He laughed and said,

"Alls fair in love and war, sweetheart." My cheeks immediately became flushed. _Love?!?! Since when has there been love? I mean, I know it's just an idiomatic statement, but still!_

"Humph." I said, voicing my discontentment. As to try and avoid him noticing my probably bright red cheeks, I continued.

"I'm going back to the room and taking a hot bath. I think that's enough dirty tricks for one day."

"Dirty? If it was a dirty trick, I would have pulled you into mud." He said, grinning. _That sounds like something Riku would have said. What happened to the quiet Zade that used subtle humor and witty remarks to make people laugh? Unless… no, there's no way he's flirting with me. But if he is, why did it start when we arrived here? Urrgh! Why is this so difficult?_

"Ha ha ha." I said monotonously. "I'm going shopping with Aerith afterwards, so I'll see you at dinner, smart ass," I added as I climbed out and made my way towards the exit.

"See ya, Jules." He called after me, as he climbed out as well.

* * *

After taking my bath and hanging my clothes to dry, I sat for a while in our room, thinking. I had one towel wrapped around me and the other on my head. _I don't get it. It seems like Zade is flirting with me, but how come he's decided to start all of a sudden? _Then it hit me. _Maybe it's because the thought of being separated scared him? I mean, there was never any threat of any of us ever leaving, and we had all the time in the world. I wonder if he thinks our time is a little more precious now?_

_Wait, I'm being stupid. This is all assuming that he is flirting with me. There's no way he could be. I mean, jeez. We're like brother and sister._

My thoughts were interrupted (as usual) when Zade strode in, carrying his shoes under one arm and wringing out his shirt. I let out a small shriek.

"Don't tell me you didn't hear me coming again," He said, seeming rather annoyed. "You sure do zone out a lot nowadays, Jules."

I didn't respond as I quickly dashed into the bathroom and slammed the door. As I looked in our mirror, I saw that my cheeks were a soft shade of crimson. _Does he time these things?_ I thought, as I pulled back the curtains to the window and pulled in my now dry clothing.

"Jules?" Zade asked eventually.

"Just a _minute, _Zade" I said, a touch of frustration in my voice.

"Ok?" he said, sounding confused. I finished changing quickly, and came out with the two towels in my hands. As I tossed them into our hamper, Zade spoke.

"Were you in the bathroom all this time?"

"No shit Sherlock." I said as I emptied the contents of the box that held my munny into my pockets.

Zade blinked for a second. "Wow."

I sighed. "It's a girl thing Zade. We aren't just happy running a little soap through our hair." I said, a slight grin appearing on my face.

"Some tomboy _you_ are." He said playfully.

"Now now Zade, I can't be a tomboy _all_ the time! That would take the fun out of it. I have to act like a girl sometimes." I said, my grin growing.

"Yeah, I guess so." he said, pretending to be mad. I walked over to him and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey, no hard feelings about today. The best _woman_ always wins."

"So you're a woman now?"

"Actually yeah. Wouldn't I be going through the rites about now if we were home? They always occur after the tournament, don't they?" _The rites were always the biggest thing around our islands, along with the tournament. It was basically a simple ceremony where teenagers were deemed "of age" to begin dating other teens. The party afterwards was where most conservative girls received their first kisses._

Zade blinked for a moment. "I guess you're right. Too bad that now that you're of age, there isn't much of a choice of guys for you to date."

I burst out into laughter. Zade looked at me funnily as I tried to stop laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Its…nothing" I said between laughs.

A smile spread across his face, as I quieted down. "I get it now…"

I immediately stopped laughing. "What???" _He couldn't know…_

"I know why you're laughing. You already have someone in mind." He said, using a playful, fake romantic tone.

"Well o wise one, who is it then?" I finally said. _Gotta play it cool…don't blush…_

"Riku."

"WHAT?!?!" I exclaimed.

"You do. The two of you are always laughing with each other and doing things together."

"Zade I do not like Riku any more that I liked that scrawny kid that was in our fighting classes last year."

"Actually I heard he had a crush on you then, and it was why he asked you for extra lessons. But that's another story. If you don't then why did you laugh so hard? Huh?" he said, grinning.

"Zade, _I don't like him._" I said, this time more forcefully. _What do I have to do to make you believe me? Tell you that I like you?_

"It's ok Jules, I'll set you two up. I'm serious. How about dinner tonight in that corner booth in the café?" he said, this time serious.

"Zade, _I'm_ serious. I don't like him!"

"Well, then who _do_ you like?" My eyes widened at that one. He's my best friend but there's no way I'm telling him that.

"Zade, I've got to go. Aerith is waiting for me, so she can show me where all the good shops are, and all. I'll see you at dinner."

"Mmkay, Jules. We'll finish this conversation later."

"Whatever, Zade." I finally said, as I headed for the door. I shut it behind me, and headed to Aerith's room. As I knocked, I let out a huge sigh. _That was an ordeal. Thank goodness I had an excuse to leave._

* * *

After spending the rest of the afternoon spending every last munny to our name, Aerith and I sat in my room, surrounded by bags. I chose more conservative clothing than what I wore on the islands, partially due to the change in climate. It was also because of Aerith's advice about dirty old men. She said the city was full of them, all looking for a pretty, young girl like myself. I would have only come home with jeans and tops, but Aerith insisted upon buying me one thing. She forced me to come home with a "little black dress", as she called it. Ithad a halter top with a ruffled bottom. I decided immediately that I would not be caught dead in it, but then Aerith reminded me- I was supposed to start being a bit more feminine. It did show off my legs nicely, so I caved in and bought a pair of heels to go along with it. We were sitting around talking, when Zade came in. Or should I say, tried to come in.

"Jules, why can I only open the door a couple of inches? Riku, you aren't in here too are you?" Zade said, as he tried to force open the door. Aerith immediately burst into a fit of giggles as I exclaimed,

"Zade!" I sat for a moment, trying to suppress laughter as Aerith nearly fell off of her chair, laughing. I finally got up and moved the bags out of the way of the door. As Zade walked in, his jaw dropped.

"What did you do, buy out the entire city?"he asked.I finally lost it, and began laughing while Aerith's face started to become red. In between laughs I tried to speak.

"Aerith…you gotta…stop….laughing…before…" was all I could get out. Zade just shook his head and started emptying bags. I finally was able to stop laughing long enough to tell him,

"Don't open the pink one that says Victoria's Secret, for everyone's sake."

This sent Aerith and I into a new fit of laughter. Zade just looked at us funnily and said, "I'll meet you two in the café. Its about time for dinner anyways," and then walked out the door. Aerith and I quickly put my new clothes up and we headed out the door. I left the hotel alone, since Aerith had to stop at her house and retrieve her husband from the clutches of video games.

I walked briskly towards the café, having built up an enormous appetite from all that training and shopping. _I bet I sleep well tonight…_

My thoughts were interrupted, again, when I heard a voice come from one of the alleyways.

"Hey sexy…" I heard.

"Go to hell." I said, and continued on walking.

"I pay nicely for pretty girls like you." I stopped.

"Say one more word and I swear, you won't be able to speak again." That obviously shut him up, so I continued on, at a faster pace. I was stopped again when I felt an arm wrap around my neck and the cold metal of a switchblade against my neck.

"Maybe now you'll see things my way," the bastard whispered in my ear, "Sweet heart."

I grabbed a hold of his arm, flipped him over, put one foot on his chest, and put my keyblade against his neck.

I growled at him, "I warned you once, now this is your last warning before I actually do something about it. Fuck with me one more time and I'll herd some heartless towards you."

His eyes became as big as dinner plates, and he whispered hoarsely, "I'm sorry…please, don't hurt me" I then stormed off away from him, as he scampered back into the hole in which he came from. _Aerith was right…the guys here **are** sick._

* * *

I finally reached the café. When I entered the establishment, the entire restaurant fell silent. I looked around curiously, and behind me, trying to figure out what was up. I shrugged my shoulders and sat down.

"Hey everyone. You won't believe what just happened to me. Some sicko tried to hire me like I was some whore or something. It was so gross!" I said, just like things were normal. Everyone was staring at me like I was crazy though. Riku was the first to speak.

"And you said you would make the heartless go after him."

"Huh?" I said. "No I didn't…"

"That's what the entire town said that you said. Like you controlled the heartless or something." Cloud said.

"Like I WHAT?!?!" I exclaimed. _Me? Control heartless? God, no! I said it like I would just lead them towards him, since they follow me! _"If you guys would pull your heads out and think for a moment, you'd remember that I hate them every bit as much as you guys do. All I said was that I'd herd them to him as a threat, since they follow me around practically, with my keyblade and all." _I can't believe they bought this bull gossip! I thought they trusted me more than this._

"Told you so," Zade said. _Wow, at least someone is on my side._ "You guys believe the gossips too easily. Have a little faith in your friends."

"Thanks, Zade. At least someone trusts me." I said. "The guy came onto me and…"

After telling them the story, everyone seemed to ease up completely around me. For the rest of the other patrons at the restaurant, well they were still uneasy. Considering they believed anything that anyone told them about the heartless. Not like I really cared about them anyways. We all finished our food, paid, and headed back. Once the door was shut behind us, I decided to bring it up again with Zade.

"So you really didn't think that I controlled the heartless? You really were on my side the entire time?" I asked.

"Yeah. Riku came running to me, not really quite sure what to think. Even though I tried to reason with him, he kept thinking you were turning into his namesake. I guess he's just kinda paranoid, with all that's happened lately." _Boy aren't we all getting that way._ I sighed.

"I guess I can understand where he's coming from. I'm a bit disappointed that he didn't have more faith in me, but with what we're dealing with, I don't really blame him."

Zade smiled.

"There's no way you could ever control heartless. Too much light emanates from you. You're pure and wholesome, and to me, you don't seem to have a shred of darkness in you." I looked him in the eyes and smiled.

"Thanks Zade. It means a lot to me."

"It's the truth Jules," Zade said. A grin then spread across his face. _Bad news._ "Now, you never told me. Who do you like?" I groaned as I fell back onto my bed.

"I swear, Zade, do you ever quit?" I said. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. _He sure is persistent. I know how to shut him up though._ I then laughed some and added,"Besides, why do you want to know so badly? Trying to scope out your competition, eh?" For once, I caught him off guard. His cheeks became flushed and he started stammering.

"I wasn't…I was…just…trying to help you out." I grinned.

"You're not too convincing, Romeo." _Wait…that's a little too creepy for me to have said. My name is derived from Juliette. Hope he doesn't make that connection._

Zade sighed. "Whatever."

"I know your little secret now, Zade. So you gotta 'fess up. Friends tell."

"Friends tell? Then by all means, spill the beans. I asked first."

"Don't change the subject," I said, laughing. _He's cute when he's flustered. _"You know you can tell me." Zade just narrowed his eyes andstared at me. I stared at him back. "Staring contests won't work on me, Zade. You go first."

"Go on, Zade, tell her!" Riku said. _What the hell?!?! Good sign though._

"Riku!!! You'll pay for this!" Zade yelled. He jumped up, and slammed the balcony doors shut, and closed all the windows. We both could hear Riku laughing loudly on the other side of the wall, in his room. I couldn't help but laugh as Zade went back to the chair he was sitting in.

"He's right you know."

"Some friend he is, spying on us. Humph. As if there's anything _to_ tell." _For the very first time, I think, I'm seeing him blush. _I smiled. I knew all I needed to know now. So, I did what I thought was right. I got up, and walked over to Zade.

"Don't worry about him. And don't worry about going first. Because I'm going." I said. Zade looked up at mecuriously.

"Ok, who is it then?" My smile widened.

"You."

Zade's eyes widened. They opened even more as I leaned down and kissed him on his cheek. I had planned to kiss him on his lips, but his open, gaping mouth prevented that. I stood up and smiled softly.

Zade sat there for a moment, dumbfounded. Slowly, his look of confusion disappeared as he looked up at me. I grinned a little, as I felt my cheeks become flushed. He laughed a little and stood up. He walked over to me, somewhat close, and looked at me.

"You're blushing." He said softly, a grin appearing on his face.

I giggled. "Yeah, I tend to do that around you."

"So all this time, that's what you've been blushing about?"

I laughed again. "Yeah." Zade's grin grew. It disappeared as he reached up and placed his left hand on the nape of my neck and kissed me. I felt like my knees were going to practically give out on me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he put his right arm around my waist. We kissed for a good thirty seconds, and finally broke, still in the same position. I leaned my forehead against his and smiled.

* * *

End of Chapter Four. Whew. That seemed to take FOREVER!!! Really tough to word. I hope it doesn't sound too terrible. I so totally did not plan the whole bad rep thing with the town. But now everyone hates Julie save the hotel residents. Heh. The fluff begins. Fwee to that. The next few chapters or so are mainly just going to be the happenings of the city. Ho hum. Can't promise anything soon. But not like enough people read this. :-P

Anyways, enough whining and rambling for me. TTYL!

-Classengurl


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